* Napa River

Chad Hole at Napa's Sweeney's Sports (255-5544) reported in to say that the river is still a tough place to target stripers. Too much mud and debris; still running high.

It's time to angle for sturgeon south of the Highway 29 bridge. Try all the sloughs and inlets all the way down to the bay. Take a run over to Port Sonoma, too.

Chad says the best baits are ghost and grass shrimp and herring. Grass shrimp are tough to find because of all the fresh water running in.

Last week, I mentioned the various colors of water as it clears. Tuesday the river at Pratt Street was a mix of khaki and green as it continues to clear up.

* Bodega Bay

Check with the team at Wil's (875-2323) regarding weather -- you can go crabbing or giant squid fishing when it's right. Crab trips are $35 each plus a re-bait and catch bag fee of $4.48.

Giant squid trips are $110 per angler and they require a full boat of six. These big babies are weighing in from 35 to 48 pounds each and are a blast to catch.

* Lake Berryessa

We're sorry to report that the Spanish Flat Resort and Marina were hard hit by the New Year's storm -- and are still closed for repairs.

We'll send them our best wishes for a speedy re-opening and some fishing news from Dino Righetti. Meanwhile, the catfish bite is what's happening. Look for muddy inflows and you'll score.

* California Delta

Yyou know fishing is tough when your pro scouts start to tell you how to take care of your gear.

However, here's a good idea from Roland "Innovate" Aspiras, who reports on bank fishing for www.fishdelta.com.

Roland points out that your braided line will pick up a lot of silt when fishing places like the Delta. This makes it a long skinny piece of sandpaper. It won't take long for that to saw a slot in your rod guides.

Short of stripping off about 30 yards of line and tossing it, take about 30 to 40 yards off the reel in the back yard and have a buddy hold a wet towel around the line while you reel it in. Keep doing it until there is no more dirt in the fold of the towel.

* Clear Lake

The crappie bite is still wide open. Target docks and brush. Toss little crappie jigs of small minnows for best results.

The catch and keep limit is 25 per rod per day.

Unless you have a really big family, just take what you need -- and toss the rest back. They'll be there when you go again.

* San Pablo Dam Reservoir

It is time to get your gear ready.

San Pablo opens for the year in mid-February. I'll keep you posted -- but if you can't wait, call them at (510) 223-1661 for the exact date.

You may recall that this trophy water produces big bass, cats and trout that are re-stocked regularly right through the summer.

* Smith River

Take a look at the river stage (height) gauges and you'll see that they are high -- too high for effective steelhead fishing. At noon Tuesday, JED was at 13.3 feet and DRF at 18.7.

Optimums are around 10 and 15. However, the Smith comes back into shape much faster than the other coastal steelhead streams so stay ready.

Incidentally, last week I promised to find out when this fishery season closes. It closes the last of April.

While you are waiting for your favorite water to go prime, you've still got time to get up to the ISE fishing & Boat Show at the Cal Expo in Sacramento this weekend.

It will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 to 5 on Sunday.

Details can be found at www.sports expos.com.

While you're there, say hello to my favorite river guide, Kevin Brock. He'll be speaking at the California Sportsmen Theater at 1:30 p.m. Friday and 6:30 p.m. Saturday.